Wheel attachment for seaplanes



May 6, 1930. F. N. SILVA, JR

` WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR SEAPLANES Filed March`14, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

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May 6, 1,930. F. N. SILVA. JR

WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR sEAPLANEs Filed March 14, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet r Il;IIIIIII (lllllnlilllllllllllllnl lli; 4r.

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T WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR 'SEPLANES- Filed March 14, 1929 4 Sheets'-Sl le`t4 f JVS lva, Jr.

. /vauwmp Patented May 6, 1930 einen FRANK N.-SILVA, JR., F SANTA.MARIA, CAIFORNIA.

WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR SEAPLANES Application led March 14, 1929. SerialNo. 347,054.

This invention relates to aircraft and hasfor its object the provisionof means under the control of the pilot whereby a seapla'ne Inay bearranged to eil'ect a landing or a take oil' upon land as well as uponthe water. The invention provides landing gear which will be normallyhoused within the pontoons or floats of the seaplane so as toavoid-excessive head resistance but which may be easily projected toworking position by fluid pressure manipulated from the cock pit of thefuselage. The invention provides means whereby the landing wheels may beprojected through the bottom of the pontoons or floats and when thelandingwheels are Withdrawn the bottoms of the floats or pontoons willbe closed so as to avoid wind resistance; Other objects of the inventionwill appear incidentally in the course of the following description, andthe invention resides in certa-in novel features which will beparticularly pointed out in thelappended claims.

In the annexed drawings: Figure 1 is a view somewhat diagrammatic incharacter showing a seaplane having the present invention embodiedtherein,

Fig.-2 is a similar view showing the Sea-l plane in side elevation, v

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section of a landing wheeland the parts im mediately associated therewith. j

Fig. 4 is a view, partly in front elevation and partly in section, onthe line 4-4 of 1g. 3 Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic viewshowing the means forcontrolling the pressure luid,'and Figi 6 is an enlarged/detail sectionon the line 6-6 of Fig. 4. f

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates the fuselage of aseaplane and the numeral 2 indicates ioatskorpontoons which' may beofany approved form and which are connected with the fuselage by struts,indicated conventionally at 3. In carrying out the present invention,the pontoon or float is provided in its bottom with an opening throughwhich the landing wheel 4 may be projected and this opening is'normallyclosed by doors 5 hinged to the side portions of the -bottom ofthe oatto swing on axes extending longitudinally of the float. Adjacent thedoors and near the side walls of the float or pontoon, bracing posts 6are secured in vertical position rigidly to the pontoon, as shown mostclearly in Fig. 4. Pivoted to each bracing post 6 is the front end ol alink 7, the links converging inwardly and rearwardly,

vas will be understood upon reference to Fig.

4, and having ltheir rear ends fitted to the ends of the axle 8 uponwhich the landing wheel 4 is mounted, and also pivotally engaged withthe ends of said axle is a fork 9 which extends upwardly and spans thewheel. and passes through a longitudinal slot l0 in the top of thelioat, the crown of the fork being enlarged to acquire strength andbeing welded i or otherwise intimately united with the lower end of apiston rod 11. The piston rod 11 'carries a piston 12 on its upper endand said piston plays in a cylinder 13 which is supported on the top ofthe float and is provided with ports 14 in its upper and'lower ends. Thelower end portion of the cylinder is enlarged, as indicated at 15, so asto provide the requisite strength and upon' this venlarged portion atdiametrically opposlte points are formed or permanently attachedspherical lugs 16 on the outer ends of short studs 12' which projectlaterally lfrom the cylinder. The knobs or spherical enlargements 16 are.fitted within casings 18 having longitudinal slots 19 in their sidespresented to the cylinder 13, the stems 17 passing through the saidslots and being adapted to play along the same.` l' Both ends of thecasings 18 are closed and, above and below the knobs 16, springsV 20 and21 are mounted in said casings, the upper springs 20 being stronger thanAthe lower springs 21. The casings 18 are rigidly secured tov or formedintegral with pedestals or brackets 22 which are rigidly secured uponthen-top of the oat and the cylinder 13 is disposed between the casingsand out of contact therewith soV that it may have a rocking movementabout the knobs 16 as a center to accommodate the angular movement ofthe piston rod and the fork 9 as the landing wheel .is 'projectedorlretracted.

Hose 23 are fitted to the respective ports 14 in the heads of thecylinder 13 and said hose 1n and the opposite ends of the cylinder arein direct communication with the respective branch lines25, as shown inFig. 5. The piston 27 is'secured upon a piston rod 28 extending throughone end o the cylinder and connected to a crosshead 29 slidably mountedin ways 30. The crosshead 29 has pivoted theretoa pitman 31 which hasits -outer end connected to a crank disk 32 driven from a motor,indicated conventionally at 33.V Within the cock pit of the fuselage,the branch lines 25 are each formed with or connected to a lateral pipe'34 and interposed in the pipes are three-way valves 35 which ma be ofany well known form and are operab e in av well understood manner tocontrol the direction of flow of the pressure Huid.

As shown in'Figs. 3`and 4, the landing wheel 4 is normally housed withinthe float and rests upon the doors 5 at the meeting edges of the latter.On its inner side adjacent its hinged edge each dooris provided with atapered enlargement 36 and immediately adjacent the lower side of 'saidenlargement the lower end of a tension spring 37 1s connected to thedoor. The upper end of each tension spring is secured to 'a cable 38which extends upwardly and is attached to a retracting spring reel 39mounted in any convenient manner upon the respective link 7.

The spring reel exerts a constant pull upon the cable 38 to hold theattached door 5 raised and closed and the tension spring 3 7 serves tokeep the cable taut so that the desired action will be attained withcertainty. When the landing wheel is projected, the doors will doors, asindicated automatically swing downwardl links 7 will also swing downwardy, as indicated by the dotted l1n`es in Fig. 3, and will l projectthrough the door opening and engage against. the inner sides of therespective b 4. The doors will gh'usbe held open when and as'long as thelanding wheel is projected;

When-the landing wheel is retracted, the

cables 38 are automaticallyretraeted so that' the doors will closea-sthe landing wheel moves upwardly. The enlargements 36 on the doors areso located relative to the springs 37 and cables 38that, when the doorsare.

opened and the landing wheel 'is in its work-V...ingpositiQIl,1511?.springs and cables will be curved over saidYenlargements and, consequently, be so disposed as to readily exert theand the the dotted lines in Fig.

desired withdrawing pull upon the doors las the wheel is raised.

It will be readily noted that the pipe lines carrying .the oil or otherpressure fluid are connected with the opposite ends of the cylinder 13,checkvalves 40 being provided in the couplings which connect the pipeswith the cylinder, and a similar valve 41 being provided in the piston.When the piston moves toward the motor, the oil may ilow through thepiston but when the piston moves in the opposite direction, the'oil willbe subjected to pressure and caused to circulate. The direction of ow toand from the cylinders 13 is controlled by the valves 35 which may bemounted upon a common control post or board within the cock pit.VVhenthe valves are set to direct-the flow into the upper end of thecylinder, the pressure of the oil or other fluid will cause the piston12 to move downwardly 5 and the wheel will be projected, the oil belowthe piston 12 simultaneouslyr moving out through the lower end of thecylinder and returning into` the circulating system.I Of

course, a reverse flow of the oilwill raise the landingwheel. As thelanding whl'eel moves downwardly, it will swing in an arc having thefront ends of the links 7 as a center and will, therefore, have a slightrelative rearward movement, which movementv is accommodated by themountin of the cylinder 13 with the knobs 16 and t e provision of theslot 10 in the to of the float. When the wheel is projecte and a lan.ing effected on the ground, the landing shoclc is absorbed by the oilor other .pressure fluid within the cylinder13 above the piston 12 andalso by the springs 12 in the casings 18, the cylinder 13 beingpermitted to yield upwardlyto the i111- operating mechanisms areduplicates. The 4 mechanism embodying my invention 4is very simllle andis highly elicient.- When the lan g wheels are in their inoperativepositions, they are entirely'housed within the pontoonsso that they donot add to the wind resistance in any degree and the cylinders andvsupporting pedestals upon each pontoon f or oat may vbe Aenclosed 1n alstream line casing so that the wind resistance offered by these artswill be minimized. In the drawings, owever, I have not illustrated ahous- `ing around these cylinders in order that the `pontoon having adoor opening in its bottom,

of swinging doors arranged to close said opening and each provided onitsinner s1de with anenlargement having a convex sur# face, links pivotallymounted within the pontoon, a landing wheel carried by said links, meansconnected with the links for lowering and raising the wheel, and exibleconnections between the links and the doors whereby the doors will beclosed as the wheelis raised, said flexible connections beng locatedwhereby .to`lower and raise the landing wheel. f

e 5. In a seaplane, the combination with av pontoon, of a andin wheelnormally house'd .1n the pontoon, a uid-pressure controlled pistonoperatively connected with the wheel for' lowering and raising the same,and a cylinder mounted on the pontoon and housing the piston, thecylinder being mounted to rock for accommodating angular movement of thewheel in raising and lowering.

6. In a seaplane, the combination with a pontoon, of a landing wheelnormally housed -therein, a pair of casings mounted on thepontoon'having longitudinal slots in' their opposed sides, afluid-pressure cylinder disposed between the casings, projections on thecylinder extending through the slots in the casings, expansion springsin the casingsv above and belowsaid pro]ections, and a piston mounted inthe cylinder'and operatively connected with the landing wheel.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FRANK N. SILVA, JR. [Las] A l l adjacent the enlargement on the doorswhereby to rest on said enlargements when the doors are opened and thelinks being arranged to extend through the door opening and bear againstthe-doors at the sides of the wheel when the wheel is lowered.

' 3.. In a seaplane, the combination with a pontoon, of, links pivotallymounted at their front ends within the pontoon, a wheel carried by therear ends of the links and adapted to move downwardly and upwardlythrough 'the bottom of the pontoon, a cylinder supported on the. pontoonfor rocking move-- ment, a piston mounted in said cylinder, a

.piston rod extending from the piston through the lower end of thecylinder, afork carried by the lower end of the (psistonrod and con-` lnected with the rear en ofthe links, and

means :for supplyin fluid preure to the cylinder through eit er en dthereof to play upon the piston.

4. In 4a seaplane, the combination with a,v pontoon, of pedestalsmounted on the top of the pontoon, casings fixed to the inner sides. ofsaid pedestals and provided with longitudinal slots in their innersides, a cylinder disposed between said casings and having v lateralstems projecting through the slots in the casings, knobs on the outerends of said stems within the casings,'expansion springs within thecasings above and below said knobs, a landing wheel disposed within thepontoon, a swinging support for said wheel,

a pstonrmounted within the cylinder, connections between the piston andthe swinging support for the wheel, and means for dey'livel-ingamepresursto-thecy1inderth5ough either end thereof toplay uponthe piston

